Giants Fans Protest VIP-Only Super Bowl Party

Giants fans protest being excluded from a pre-Super Bowl celebration in Midtown Manhattan Wednesday. Star Jones was one of the celebrities invited to the party.

A crowd of curious onlookers—and an even larger horde of paparazzi—gathered outside Michael’s restaurant in Midtown Manhattan to see stars like Regis Philbin, Star Jones, Carol Alt and Kathie Lee Gifford arriving for Wednesday’s VIP-only party to celebrate the Giants’ upcoming Super Bowl appearance.

But Eric Fiebelkorn, a Long Island resident and longtime Giants fan, didn’t want any signatures or photographs. He and his compatriots from the New Jersey Fan Alliance were there with a mission.

“A Giants party should include the fans,” he said. “It shouldn’t just be for the rich silver-spoon-in-your-mouth people who don’t even know who the Giants are. That’s why we’re all out here protesting.”

OK, so maybe it wasn’t much of a protest—the entire group consisted of four dedicated (and loud) Giants fans. They painted their faces blue and wielded signs claiming that the Giants “belong to NY and NJ” and that “NY fans have the right to party.” When the celebrities started arriving, one protestor yelled out, “Blue-collar, not blueblood.”

“We are the heartbeat of the New York Giants,” Fiebelkorn said. “We are the team. We are the 12th man. We are part of it.”

The demonstration began inauspiciously. Police officers immediately told the protestors they couldn’t affix their signs to wooden sticks, forcing them to dispose of anything that could double as a melee weapon. The rally cry of “real fans stand out in the cold” (while rich celebrities dine in luxury) didn’t really jive on a beautiful, 60-degree afternoon. Nor did it help the cause much when one of the group’s ringleaders started asking the celebrities to autograph her protest sign.

Still, the protest did not go for naught. The restaurant sent out plates of French fries and official Giants Super Bowl baseball caps for the group, courtesy of Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and film magnate Harvey Weinstein.